A stranger's face
by katie1999
Summary: New world Zorro. A man wakes up and is unable to remember anything. Now he has to find out about himself. Some surprises are in store for everyone. His POV. Just a short one to have some fun.
1. Chapter 1

**"This story is an amateur, not-for-profit publication produced solely for the enjoyment of other Zorro fans and is not intended to infringe upon any rights by Goodman/Rosen Productions, New World Television, Zorro Productions, the estate of Johnston McCulley or anyone else.**

**A stranger's face**

**Chapter 1**

He woke up in a large bed that was covered with a blanket in red and orange design. It was a large room and some flowers were standing on a small side table. The sun coming through the closed shutters told him that it was already day. In his nightshirt that he didn't recognize, he opened the window to look outside.

The window was on the ground floor, opening up to the garden of a large hacienda. Behind the walls, enclosing the garden, he could see the stables where servants were already busy. The bright sun from the window blinded his eyes and increased his headache. He touched his head and felt a big lump on the side of his head where he had probably hit himself somewhere.

In the mirror on the wardrobe he saw the face of a tall man with Spanish features, blue eyes and a mustache. It was the face of a stranger.

Looking into the wardrobe, he found man's clothing that seemed to fit him. After doing his morning toilet at the washstand, he dressed himself in a blue suit and a white ruffled caballeros' shirt. Stepping out of the room, he followed the hallway where he heard some voices. He was about to pass by an open door that led into a study, but was stopped by an older man who approached him.

"Ah Diego, have you finally decided to get up? It's nearly noon!" The man from the study greeted him. He looked at the man bewildered. He didn't recognize him. What was his name? Only then did he realize that he couldn't remember his own name either. The man had called him Diego. Was that his own name? It must be, since the man seemed to know him.

"I'm sorry, I think I must have bumped my head," he replied, carefully avoiding to address the man.

"Did you fall from your chair when you were reading late again?" The man shook his head. "When will you ever change, Diego?"

He wanted to protest that he hadn't fallen from a chair, but then he stopped. How could he deny it when he didn't know himself what he had done last night? It was one of his least problems now. He needed to find out who was and get back his memory.

"Your breakfast is waiting for you in the dining room, Diego," the man said. "I'll tell the cook to brew you some fresh coffee."

"After you have finished, I want you to come with me to the pueblo. I'll meet with some friends there and we can have lunch together in the tavern. It's been some days since we have eaten in the tavern. Victoria will start to miss us."

He left the study to look for the dining room that could be anywhere behind those closed doors he had passed by or even further down the hall. He went to the left, farther down the hallway, and opened the next door by chance. It wasn't the dining room but a library with bookshelves, filled with books on both sides of the large fireplace in the center of the room.

He took randomly some of the books from the shelf and looked inside. One was a poetry book and on the inside there was a name written. Diego de la Vega. The book looked new, only a few years old, so it was probably his own book and his name. He was Diego de la Vega. Scanning through the pages, he couldn't remember any of the poems he read. He sighed. Either he hadn't read the book or it was one more memory that he had lost.

"Don Diego," a servant entered the room, "the coffee is ready. Your father told me to make some for you. I put it on the breakfast table. Do you need anything else?"

"I'll come with you and I'll tell you." So the man in the study had been his father who was the patron of the house. He put the book back on the shelf and followed the servant who led him to the dining room that he had passed by on his way from his bedchamber. Sitting down at the table, he helped himself to some breakfast that was laid out for him. He poured himself coffee in the hope that it would help him with his headache. If he could get rid of the headache, he might get back his memory too.

Without knocking, a teenage boy in an orange shirt and loose trousers entered the room and started to sign. He looked at him uncomprehendingly. What were these gestures about and why wasn't the boy saying a word?

"What do you want from me?" he asked. "I don't understand you."

The boy started to sign more agitated, but stopped soon again with a questioning look on his face when he got no reaction.

"You can't speak?" The boy looked at him surprised and shocked. "I don't understand your signs, so unless you have no other means of communication, I don't know what you want from me." The mouth of the boy gaped open at his statement and gestured again.

He waved his hand. "Please stop signing. This is futile. Can you write?"

The boy nodded, but was shocked again by the question. The boy left the room only to return with paper and pencil a few minutes later.

_What happened? _The boy wrote.

"I don't know what happened. I can't remember anything. Who are you?" The boy look scared at his question.

_I'm Felipe. I'm in your charge and you are my guardian._

"Can I trust you, Felipe?" he asked the boy.

The boy nodded vehemently, a gesture that needed no explanation.

"Can I ask you some questions?" The boy nodded again. "You can hear but not speak?"

The boy nodded, but started to write again. _I can hear, but it is a secret between us._

"Why?"

Felipe sighed. _It's complicated. You can't remember anything?_

"No, I'm sorry. I can't even remember my own name. Who am I and what happened to me?"

_You are Don Diego de la Vega and Zorro fell from Toronado last night when the horse was frightened by a bullet._

"If I'm Diego de la Vega, why does Zorro's fall affect me? And who is this fox? Is this a kind of unusual pet? What does a fox have to do with a storm?" He could see that Felipe's exasperation grew with every question.

_No, Zorro is a man. You are Zorro! And Toronado is your horse._

"Why am I called Zorro? I thought my name is Diego?!"

Felipe threw his hands in the air. This was getting more and more annoying by the minute.

"I'm sorry, Felipe, that I ask so many stupid question, but can you imagine how it feels to wake up knowing nothing about yourself?" He asked, trying to make the boy understand. To his surprise the boy nodded. "You do?" The boy nodded again.

_I lost my parents when they were caught in a battle of the rebellion. You found me and took me in when I could neither speak nor hear after that day. You called me Felipe and gave me a home. I regained my hearing, but not my ability to speak and I never remembered my parents. So I know how it feels!_

"Felipe, I'm sorry to hear that about your parents, but I also know now that I can trust you. So we are friends?"

"_You have been like a father to me; you raised me and you had me educated."_

He smiled at the boys sincere expression of love. "I need to find out what happened and get back my memory. So you say that I or Zorro was thrown from my horse, because I was in a fight. Who was I fighting with? And I haven't understood yet what Zorro means. Is that a nickname for me?"

Felipe sighed again, but patiently he started to write again.

_Zorro is a black rider whose identity is hidden behind a black mask. He has taken over the task to protect the pueblo from bandits and from the alcalde. Zorro is an outlaw!_

"So I have a secret identity as Zorro?" The boy nodded. "So I was riding as Zorro last night and I got a concussion during that trip? How do you know that?"

_You told me and I helped you when you got back. _Felipe smiled proudly at him.

He wanted to asked another question, but his headache overwhelmed him. Bracing his head in his hands, he tried to fight the sudden dizziness and the blurring of his sight. Felipe looked at him concerned, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Have you finished breakfast, Diego?" his father asked, entering the dining room. "Are you ready for our trip to Los Angeles?"

"I'm sorry, Father, but I can't join you. I hit my head yesterday and now I may have a concussion. I will go back to bed." He apologized, still holding his head. Getting up, he swayed a little and he saw the sudden concern in his father's eyes.

"I'll talk to Dr. Hernandez when I ride to the pueblo and tell him to come looking for you."

"Thank you, Father." Leaning a little on the boy, he let Felipe guide him back to his room. Putting on his nightshirt again, he slipped between the covers. He noticed Felipe closing the curtains before he fell asleep.

Z Z Z

When he woke up again, he saw a white-haired man standing by his bed who was examining him.

"Don Diego? How are you feeling?"

He blinked at little, trying to focus on the man. "Dr..., Dr. ..?" He tried to remember the name of the doctor. Hadn't his father mentioned the name?

"Yes, it's me, Dr. Hernandez," the doctor assisted him. "You told your father you had a concussion. What are your symptoms? Headache? Dizziness? Problems to focus?"

He nodded to all of them.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I don't know, I can't remember. I can't remember anything!"

"That happens quite often that the patient doesn't remember his fall after a concussion. You will remember it eventually."

"You don't understand, doctor. I don't remember anything, anything at all."

"Please explain, Don Diego, what can't you remember?"

"I can't remember who I am, my family, this house, you, ..., I have no memory at all."

"I see, a memory loss is the result of your concussion, but most of the time it's only partial. Patients lose the memory, how they got hit or sometimes they are missing some time of their past. Tell me, Don Diego, what is the last thing you remember?"

"I remember waking up this morning here in my bed and from that time on."

"What about yesterday or last week? Or your childhood?"

He shook his head, only to have his headache return. "Ow! Nothing. I know my name is Diego de la Vega because others told me, but I can't remember myself!" He tried not to show his frustration. "When will my memory return, Doctor?"

"The human brain is still a mystery to us, Don Diego. I can't give you a prognosis. I may return in a day, a week or never."

"Does that mean that I may never remember at all?" He was shocked.

"It's a possibility that I can't keep from you. I'm sorry, Don Diego. But you must not lose faith. There is hope that you will remember all. Just give it time."

"Is there anything I can do, doctor?"

"You need to rest now and stay in bed at least today until your headaches are gone. I'll come back tomorrow and look at you again."

He leaned back into the pillows and closed his eyes. This was a nightmare. To imagine he'd never get his memory back!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

"Diego, you're awake again?" He saw the man who was his father put his head through the door. "Felipe looked into your room earlier and he said that you were sleeping soundly." His father came into the room, closing the door behind him.

"The doctor told me you suffer from a concussion and a loss of memory. How are you feeling?"

He sat up in his bed and the dizziness was back again for a moment. He closed his eyes and waited for the spell to pass.

"Diego, you should better lie down. A concussion has to be taken seriously." He felt his father's hand on his shoulder, pushing him back into the pillows. "Why didn't you say anything in the morning? It's dangerous to walk around with a concussion! Normally, you go to bed at the slightest cold and when you're serious ill, you get up." His father shook his head.

"I don't remember anything, Father, not even my own name."

His father looked at him with a mixture of shock and compassion. "I'm sorry to hear that, Diego, but I'm sure you will get back your memory in no time. Victoria missed you in the tavern today and when I told her you were ill, she sent you her best wishes. She'll will visit you as soon as it's less busy in the tavern. But the market day will hardly leave her a free moment."

He wanted to ask him some questions, but then someone called for his father. "I'm sorry, Diego, Juan is calling for me. One of the mares is foaling and there are some problems. We'll talk tomorrow when you've rested some more."

He couldn't sleep anymore, staring at the ceiling, he soon became bored. He reached for one of the books that was piled up on his nightstand. He started to read, but it explained some complicated chemical experiments. The drawings and letters began to blur in front of his eyes and he couldn't concentrate either.

Frustrated he put the book back on the pile. He hated this forced inactivity. He wanted to get up and move around. He wouldn't get back his memory if he stayed put in his bed. Nonetheless he didn't want to take a chance on losing his memory for good by getting up against the doctor's advice. He'd stay in bed today and if his headache was gone tomorrow, he'd get up again.

Dozing on and off, the time passed by slowly. A light knocking on the door woke him up again. He hoped for Felipe to come visiting, but it was only a servant.

"I'll bring your dinner, Don Diego," the maid said shyly. "It's some soup that Maria has made for you."

"Maria is the cook?" he asked.

"Si, senor," the maid answered surprised. He started to hate that reaction. He needed to know about the people in this house, but to others he gave the impression as if he had suddenly become plain stupid, asking all these questions.

"Where is Felipe?" That was a safe question to ask.

"He is in the stables with your father, supervising the foaling of Fatima." He noticed that the woman was eager to return to the kitchen and he refrained from asking her any more questions.

Z Z Z

The next morning he felt much better. The headache and the dizziness were gone when he sat up in his bed. He felt refreshed as if he had gotten enough enough sleep for the first time in weeks.

Thinking of the double life Felipe had told him about, it was probably the case. It sounded crazy to him to stay out all night as a masked man and live another life by day. How had he managed and how long had he been doing that?

He had just finished the breakfast, the same maid from the evening before had brought him, when the doctor came for his visit.

"Good morning, Don Diego, how are you today?" Dr. Hernandez greeted him.

"Much better, Doctor." He couldn't await getting up again. Patiently he endured the doctor's examination of his eyes, his head and general constitution.

"The headaches and dizziness are gone, Don Diego?"

"Si, I really feel much better today," he assured the doctor.

"What about your memory? Any progress in that direction?"

"No, not at all. My memory starts with yesterday," he replied depressed. "Shouldn't there be any change, now that the headache is gone, doctor?"

"I think you expect too much, Don Diego. Because you're feeling better today doesn't mean you're healed again. It takes time and with the brain you'll never know. The memory may return slowly or all at once, there is no rule. Sometimes it's an item or a situation that reminds the person of what he has forgotten. Strong emotions may trigger the memory too."

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"Nothing special, Don Diego, you should give yourself time to heal and not overexert yourself."

"Can I get up again?" he asked eagerly. "I need to get out of this room."

"I'd prefer if you stayed in bed for some time, but I can see that I can hardly keep you here, now that you're feeling better. You may get up for a short time if you promise to return to bed immediately if your headaches return. And don't stay up for too long. I want you to lay flat as much as you can."

He suppressed a face at the doctor''s restriction, but he was relieved to get up at all. As soon as the doctor had left, he finished his morning toilet and dressed himself. With more confidence than yesterday he left his room. He found his father sitting in the parlor that was adjacent to the library, reading his mail.

"Diego, you look much better today. The doctor told me you shouldn't stay up too long and not strain yourself."

"Thank you, Father, I feel better. The long rest helped a lot."

"Is there anything I can do for you, Diego?" His father put down his mail and looked at him. He sat down on the chair opposite his father's.

"I don't know if you can understand it, but I know nothing of myself. Tell me about our family. What about my mother?"

His father hadn't expected that question from the astonished expression at his face.

"Your mother, Diego? You have forgotten her too?"

He nodded. "What happened to her? Is she dead? How did she look like?"

"I think you will remember her, Diego, once you get your memory back. You were already twelve years old when she died. You were an only child and we always wished for another," his father sighed. "So we were very happy when she got pregnant again after all these years. Unfortunately she had a miscarriage and both your mother and the child died."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Father," he put a comforting hand on the man's arm. His father wiped a tear from his eye and stood up to fetch a small picture from the mantel. It showed a portrait of a young woman with curly brown hair and striking blue eyes.

"As you can see, you have the eyes of your mother. You remind me a lot her and not only because of her eyes. She had a quick wit and a hot temper, but she was able to control herself. One of us had to or our marriage would have been a fiasco if we both had said what we later regretted. She was very interested in arts too. I think you got your talent for painting from her."

"I'm painting pictures?" he asked.

"Yes, and they are really good, but I haven't seen new pictures from you for some time."

"So, I have no siblings. What about other relatives?"

"I had two brothers, one was killed during a campaign when were soldiers and the other died ten years ago of an accident. He has one son, Rafael, who lives in Monterey with his family. On the way back from you uncle's funeral, you found Felipe who had lost his parents in a battle near Guadelajara and brought him here. Though you were still a teenager then you took care of him as if he were your son."

"That made me really proud of you, Diego. You never cared that the boy could neither speak nor hear. And Felipe will never forget what you did for him either." His father smiled at him.

His father's eyes followed him when he started to walk around in the parlor. Though this was his home, he felt like someone who explored an unknown territory. He opened the piano and let his fingers run over the keys, playing a short melody that came into his mind.

"That's Beethoven, Diego. Do you remember that whistling bandit who robbed the pueblo? Stealing even your mother's bust!" His father made an angry face, remembering the incident.

"No, I don't remember, Father. I still haven't gotten back my memory." Frustrated he closed the piano with a loud bang. "I'm sorry."

Looking for other things to let out his frustration, his eyes fell on some swords that were loosely attached to the wall, ready for use.

He took one of the swords from the wall and weighted it in his hand. "Why do you keep these swords here, Father?" His father looked at him surprised. What was wrong with this question again?

"They aren't of a good quality, very light and not much use in a real fight. A good Toledo steel will easily cut the blade at its hilt."

He made some fencing moves with the blade in his need to do some exercise. "It could be better balanced," he continued his evaluation of the sword. With one quick movement he cut through the base of the row of candles on a sideboard. "At least it's not dull." His father stared at him open mouthed. And Felipe who had slipped into the room unnoticed was standing behind his father with his hands on his head and a shocked expression.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, not understanding their reaction. "Since I have lost my memory, everything is new to me. What's wrong with asking some questions?" He became annoyed with their staring. Gracefully, he rapidly swung the blade in the air with no effort and enjoyed the feeling of an extended hand though the sword was too light for his taste.

"Do these swords have a special meaning, father?" He tried to understand. "Did you mind me touching them?"

"No, Diego, not at all. I was only surprised by your skill with the sword." His father had gotten up and went over to the candles, examining them, lifting each in a row to see a clear cut. His father sat down again, shaking his head. Looking forward and back between him and the candles, his father was still upset by something.

He put the sword back on the wall. "You haven't told me about the new foal that kept you busy last night," he switched the topic and both were eager to tell him about it during lunch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

He had slept a little after lunch and now he was sitting in the library, trying in vain to read a book. Somehow he couldn't concentrate on anything and he heard his father talk with a woman in the hallway. They were talking loud enough for him to overhear every word.

"Hola Victoria, it's nice of you to visit Diego when you're so busy at the tavern." His father said.

"Of course, I need to look for Diego," the woman replied. "He's always there for me too, Don Alejandro. How is he? I heard that he has lost his memory?"

"Yes, he doesn't remember anything about his past. Today he asked me about his mother."

"It must be scary, not being able to remember one's past."

"Yes, it's scary, but not only for Diego, Victoria."

"What do you mean by that, Don Alejandro? "

"I always thought that I knew my son, but somehow he's a stranger now. And I am starting to think that I never really knew him. And that I never saw his true self after he returned from Spain."

"That sounds really scary, Don Alejandro. But how can he be different? He's still Diego even if he has lost his memory."

"I can't explain, Victoria. You'll see for yourself when you meet him. He's in the library if you want to see him. I have to go to the stables now to look for the new foal. Do you want me to introduce you to Diego first?"

The woman laughed a little. "Why would you introduce me? I've known Diego all my life. That's about the silliest thing I have heard. Don't let me keep you, Don Alejandro. I know my way around."

He heard the woman's light steps come closer and he rose from his seat to greet her. He didn't know who to expect, but her sight had him speechless. His heart was beating fast when he saw the stunning woman enter the library.

"Excuse me my staring, Senorita. You must be Victoria. I heard you talk with my father in the hallway. You are the most very beautiful woman, I have ever seen," he took her hand and kissed it. "Are we engaged?"

Victoria only stared at him. "No, we aren't," she stuttered.

"I wish we were. Even if I don't remember you, I can't believe any man wouldn't want to marry you at first sight."

Victoria gaped at him. "I don't know what to say, Diego. You and I are just friends. And besides that, there is another man in my life."

"That's too bad. It that the reason we aren't married?" Victoria looked at him scared, but he wasn't finished yet. "Then why aren't you married yet? You say there is another man, but why didn't he marry you? Who is he? Did you only meet him recently?" Victoria couldn't stand his questions anymore.

"Please excuse me, Diego, but I have to go now."

He realized that he had shocked her somehow. "I'm sorry, Senorita, I didn't want to upset you." He looked at her and deep inside he knew that he loved her with all his heart.

"I think I didn't start this conversation very well. Will you please forgive me?" He took her hand and placed another kiss on it. For a moment they looked straight into each others eyes, before Victoria turned her eyes away. She wanted to leave, but he didn't let go of her hand. "You didn't answer my question, Senorita. Will you forgive me?"

"I will, if you let me go now." Victoria's voice trembled and he could see that she was very nervous.

"No, you can't go yet," he stopped her. He was still holding her hand and he kissed it once more. Even if his mind had forgotten her, his body hadn't. He knew the smell of her skin, the taste of her lips. Without releasing her hand, he drew her into his arms and kissed her. She put her hands on his chest, trying to push him away. But then her initial resistance to his unexpected kiss melted away as soon as her body remembered too and her arms found their way around his neck. "You!" she exclaimed, looking him into the eyes. He couldn't stop kissing her, now that she responded to his kiss. "I could never forget my love for you, Victoria," he whispered.

He remembered the feeling of having her in his arms, the warmth of her soft body under his hands. And he remembered kissing her before. He knew without thinking how to hold her and how she loved to be touched.

"We should get married soon," he said softly, as she started to moan under his kisses. "I don't know why we haven't yet, but we will redeem that as soon as possible."

Her arms around his neck felt too good, just where they belonged. But his suit was somehow more confining than expected. He needed her in his arms and he wasn't willing to let go. There was this overwhelming love for her that made him kiss her breathless.

When he kissed her, pictures and memories started to appear in his mind. He was wearing black and she was lying in his arms while her white blouse turned red from her blood. He had wanted to help her, but she had urged him to leave. He had never felt that scared and helpless before.

Somehow other memories came up on his mind where he was holding her in his arms or kissing her hand, but all were overlaid with the feeling of danger that made him leave much earlier than he wished. He saw her putting her his ring on her finger, smiling happily at him. More and more memories came back to him, all centered around the woman in his arms. How she smiled at him when he was wearing black or was angry with him while he wasn't.

The pictures were flooding him and his head started to spin again. Releasing her, he tried to cope with it. He swayed a little and put one hand to his forehand. Victoria looked at him concerned.

"Diego, are you alright?"

"I need a minute, Victoria. I'm starting to remember. There are so many memories. So much information." He sat down on the couch, pulling her with him, still holding her hand. For some minutes he leaned back, closing his eyes, trying to make sense of his memories. He was Diego, but he was Zorro too. It was as if his life was given back to him. Relieved he breathed in heavily.

"Are you feeling better now? What do you remember?" Victoria asked when opened his eyes again.

"You! I remember you, Victoria! Who you are, who I am; my whole life centers around you!" He was now Diego again who looked at her with a happy smile and caressed her cheek tenderly. He had gotten back his name and his self.

Victoria noticed the change in him and looked at him questioningly. "Holding you in my arms made me remember the most important moments in my life. I will need some time to sort it all out, but I think I'll be whole again. The doctor said that strong emotions may trigger the memory and now I know what he meant. There's no one else I have so strong feelings for than for you."

"So you're Diego again?" Victoria asked him. "You were so different when you didn't remember me. Did you really mean that about loving me at first sight?"

"Yes, it was the same feeling I had on the day I met you after my return from Spain. You are the woman of my dreams." Victoria began to blush when Diego looked at her lovingly.

"What are you going to do now?"

"For a time I didn't have any memory of my past and it helped me to see everything from a different angle. I don't want to go back to this life as Diego and Zorro, always hiding myself. I think it was a mistake to have it going on for so long. What I said to you earlier was the truth, I have always loved you and I want us to get married without wasting any more time. Do you think you can love me even when I'm not wearing black?"

Victoria smiled at Diego. "You should have believed me when I told you that I'm in love with the man and not with the legend." She bent over to him, putting her hand on his cheek and kissed him.

"But how can we get married without making the alcalde suspicious?" Victoria inquired concerned.

"I'll tell him that my illness has convinced me to tell you of my love and you agreed, since you had a secret crush on me too and are tired of waiting for Zorro. And I can offer you much more than an outlaw."

"Do you think the alcalde will buy it? What if he doesn't?" Victoria wasn't convinced yet.

"Victoria, this time without memory made me realize what really matters in life. That's having you as my wife. And I don't want to live a life on hold anymore. If we wait for a change, we may never be together. We have to get married now and have a life together before it's too late. We need to risk it and no longer live in fear. Don't you want that too?"

"Yes, I do, but I'm afraid," Victoria confessed. "This is all going so fast for me. I never expected the day to turn out like this. I came here to visit a sick friend and now everything is different. You actually scared me when you greeted me as if you hadn't seen me before."

"I'm sorry, Victoria, I didn't want to scare you. I wasn't an act. I only said what was on my mind and what I felt. When I woke up yesterday, I didn't know anything about myself. Felipe tried to explain my life to me and I realized that it was a total mess. I wasn't aware of the restrictions I had put on myself to keep my secret identity and so blew my cover inadvertently. Not only with you, but also with my father. You should have seen him this morning when I played with one of his swords because I was frustrated." Diego chuckled at the memory. "I didn't even understand why he was gaping at my sword skills."

Turning serious again, Diego took hold of both of her hands and looked at her intensely. "Can you live with a short engagement, Victoria? Marry me on Saturday next week? I think a week is the shortest time between reading the banns and the wedding. How much time do you need for your wedding preparations?"

"Diego, I could never find Zorro, because you hid him too well under the mask of Diego, but I now I can see him in you. It is good you made up your mind and there is nothing I want more than to share my life with you. I won't need more than a week to dust off my wedding gown that I have ready ever since you asked me."

Diego's father interrupted their kissing when he entered the library. "Hrrmph!" Alejandro made himself heard. "Diego, Victoria! What's going on here?"

"Victoria has just helped me to regain my memory," Diego smiled, a little annoyed by the interruption. Diego kept an arm around Victoria's waist and looked at his father challenging. "She has also agreed to marry me in about a week, after I have spoken to the padre."

Diego had thought his father would be surprised again, but he didn't react as expected. His father only nodded as if it was the confirmation he had been waiting for. "So you have finally decided to marry your lady, Diego? Or should I rather say Zorro?"

"You're not surprised, Father?" Diego asked.

"Not after your little show with the sword this morning. It made me take a closer look at you and the differences were visible. You walked and moved differently from the Diego I saw the last years. There is only one man I know who moves with such grace and self confidence and that is Zorro. Seeing you here with Victoria is all I needed to know."

Z Z Z

"Hola, Don Diego," the alcalde greeted him when he entered the tavern. "Your father told me you were ill. Are you feeling better again?"

"Yes, I'm fine now." Diego smiled. "I hit my head somehow and lost my memory, but now it's back."

"I heard you and Senorita Escalante are engaged? Is that true?" de Soto inquired curiously.

Diego smiled broadly, "Yes, it's true alcalde. You can congratulate us. When I was ill and couldn't remember my past, I began to see some things differently. I have always loved Victoria, but I never dared to ask her. When I told her I loved her, she confessed that she loved me too and she agreed to become my wife."

"And what about Zorro?"

"Victoria may never love me as much as Zorro, but as long as she feels some love for me I can live with it." Diego was serious. "And an outlaw can never compete with a de la Vega," he added almost arrogantly.

De Soto looked at him surprised. "You have changed, Don Diego!" Diego was almost getting used to creating surprised reactions from others by whatever he did or said.

"Losing one's memory is almost like dying and makes a man think about his life. You should think about that too, De Soto. Have you given your life a thought recently?" Diego questioned him.

"Here you are in this pueblo that you despise, wasting your life, trying to catch an outlaw you will never get. Years have passed now, since you came here and nothing has changed. You are hated by the citizens and have no true friends, eating all you meals alone. Is that really the life you want to live? How you want to be remembered? It's not too late for you to change it, by either becoming a different alcalde or by returning home to Spain to your family."

De Soto looked impressed by Diego's speech and Diego could see that he had somehow hit the mark with the alcalde. "You have changed really profoundly, Don Diego. And you have given me something to think about. You may be right and it's time for a change not only for you."

Diego looked around in the tavern and saw Victoria coming towards him. "There you are, my dear," he smiled. He stretched out his hand to reach for her hand that she gave him happily. Holding her hand with a tight grip, Diego led her out the tavern. "Padre Benitez is waiting for us. He will read the bans tomorrow, but he wants to talk with us about the wedding next week."

"I can hardly await it," Victoria beamed at him.

Hand in hand they walked across the plaza to the church.

Z Z Z

There were some more delays to the wedding, not only that Victoria's brothers and some of Diego's relatives protested that they wouldn't be able to attend on such a short notice, the padre rose some objections too. It would put the marriage into a bad light, hinting a scandal, if they insisted on a fast wedding when there wasn't really a need. Grudgingly they had agreed to marry in a month, the earliest day all parties consented to.

It gave them time to prepare everything for the big day he had been waiting for so long. Diego's father insisted on arranging the wedding party and inviting all the guests he was expected to host as a member of the de la Vega family.

Giving Diego's suggestion a thought, it took the alcalde less than a month to make his decision about his own future. After arranging everything for his successor, de Soto left with a ship to Spain, not attending Diego's and Victoria's wedding.

Diego was wearing a black suit and he thought that Victoria had never looked so wonderful as that moment when her brother led her down the aisle in her wedding gown.

"I love you, Victoria," he whispered, before he kissed his wife the first time, "and nothing can take that away from me."

**The End**


End file.
